


Supposed To Be

by hunters_retreat



Series: Story's End [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Dean raises Sam, John Dies, M/M, Sam and Dean lean on each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:16:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4486305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>   It was a life they were learning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Supposed To Be

 

The summer sun was still high in the sky when Dean followed the edge of their property and took the trail towards the small creek that ran that way.  Spring rains had been good so the creek was still high and Dean knew that in the heat of the day his little brother liked to go back there and relax in the cool water.  Dean didn’t like the idea of him being out there by himself but Sam had been a bit of a loner after Dad’s death and he’d ended the school year without too many friends.  Dean wasn’t too worried about how Sam would make out when school started again, but for the summer it left too much time on his hands.  Sam spent his mornings doing yard work for anyone that was willing to pay him and in the evenings they usually had dinner together and then worked on the database, trying to define a list of categories for the supernatural to fall into.  They were still debating if the fey belonged in the mythological, magical, or physical category.  “Mythological” was their hodge-podge category for all the things they’d heard of but had no reliable sources on.  He had a feeling when Bobby got a chance to look at their hodge-podge a lot of it would make it somewhere on the lists.  Just because their dad hadn’t hunted something didn’t mean it wasn’t real. 

Dean heard the light splash and the soft babbling of water and smiled as he found Sam straddling a fallen log in the middle of the swimming hole, legs kicking idly as Sam held a handful of stones.  He raised an arm and skipped them one by one across the water, watching them without realizing Dean was there.

“Even your elbow out a bit,” Dean suggested.

Sam looked up, and then let out a deep breath as he realized it was just Dean.  “Thought you were working today?”

“I was.  When we pulled up the carpets on the new place Leta bought they were a disaster.  We’re gonna have to have a pro come in to take care of it.  Worked it out with guy to teach me while he was at it, but he won’t be able to start until Wednesday.  Looks like I have an unexpected six day vacation.”

“Big plans?”

“Yep.  Plan on sparring with my little brother to see how pathetic we are.  Then, I thought if we weren’t too tired tonight we’d pack up and hit the road.”

“Where to?”

“No idea.  We just haven’t been able to get out in a while and I thought it might be fun,” Dean said, watching for Sam’s reaction.  It felt right to him, to hit the road, but he had no idea what Sam would think of it.

“You mean, go hunting?”

“No,” Dean said immediately.  “Look, I know how great it’s been being in one place but I just thought … you know we used to enjoy the times Dad would take off and just leave us together.  We’d have three days to meet with Dad someplace and we’d just kill time together.  I thought… never mind.  It was a dumb idea.”

“No, Dean,” Sam got off the log and swam over towards the shallows.  Dean just waited for him.  “It sounds great.  I just … I didn’t want it to be a hunt.”

“Sammy, I wouldn’t do that.  You know we gave that up.”

“Yeah, at least until I graduate I know.  I just… thought … maybe with all the database stuff you were getting antsy for it.”

“You know I’ve been free of stitches for six months now?  I don’t think that’s happened since I was thirteen and Dad started letting me help out.”  Dean stretched up and smiled as Sam watched him.  “I think I like that feeling.”

Sam’s smile was wide as he nodded.  “I do too.”  Dean’s brow furrowed because he’d never let Sam get hurt like that. Sam saw the look and shook his head, a tint of pink blossoming on his cheeks.  “I just meant I like knowing you aren’t hurt.”

Dean nodded as Sam dropped his eyes to the water in front of him.  He’d come close to the edge but he was still knee deep.

“So what do you say we relax a bit, get some lunch then do a little sparring?  When we’re done we’ll load up and head out for the night.”

Sam looked up at him for a second before nodding.  “Yeah, okay.”  Sam swam back into the deeper part of the water and Dean walked along the creek bank until he was sitting on the grass watching Sam.  It was really nice there, the sort of place Dean would never have dreamed of settling down in.  The sort of place he would have dreamed of if his family hadn’t been ripped apart when he was four and he’d shredded any such thoughts of normal.  Sam needed it and Dean loved his brother enough to stay still for a little while.  At least, that’s what it had been in the beginning.  Now?  He wasn’t sure how he felt about travelling around anymore.  They had agreed no more hunting until Sam graduated, but he wasn’t sure he could subject Sam to that life.

“Hey Dean?”

Dean looked down at Sam just in time to get hit by a huge wave of water.  “Sam!” Sam’s laughter caught up to him and Dean didn’t wait to toe off his shoes and pull his shirt over his shoulders. 

Sam was swimming away, he could hear it from the strokes but he moved quick, pushing his jeans down until he was in nothing but his boxers.  He cannonballed into the water, sending water crashing over Sam. 

He came up laughing and saw Sam’s smile. 

They swam for a long time, dunking and rolling each other around until they finally just started floating in the water.  Dean felt calm just laying back, feeling the water lap against his skin.  When he reached out a hand, he felt Sam there beside him.  His brother’s arm came up over his chest and Dean gently moved his arm until Sam’s head was resting on his elbow.  They were upside down to one another and Dean couldn’t help but feel a loosening in his chest as the ripples of the creek twirled them around one another.  He wanted Sam even closer.  If they were on dry land he’d be wrestling him to the ground but he didn’t have that choice.  He could only turn his head to the side slightly.  When he did, his eyes met Sam’s.  It was hard to see Sam’s mouth from that angle, but he could tell from his eyes that his little brother was smiling. 

“Maybe we could just skip the sparring today,” Dean said softly.  Sam nodded but didn’t say anything else. 

They drifted like that for a long time, eyes on one another until the water pulled them apart.  When drifted back together they hooked their ankles. 

They were both starved by the time they finally stepped out of the water.  Lunch was just sandwiches on the run, eaten as they packed.  Dean wasn’t in a rush to get moving, but once they were out of the water something seemed to pass between them and Dean knew they both wanted to see the sunset through the Impala’s windshield.

They threw their bags in the back seat and filled up on gas and snacks on the way.  A few hours later they hit a greasy diner at the edge of the state and laughed at the absurd names of the dishes.  The waitress was the same as every other woman they’d met along the road and handed out free pie to a couple of brothers on a road trip.  When she mentioned the county fair two towns over, it seemed like a place to be.

The sun set while they were driving down the freeway, Dean’s arm over the back of the seat with Sam’s fingers drumming out the beat of Bob Seger.  The sky cast orange and pink tones over the world and for the first time in years there was nothing dark about the world they were driving into. 

When they finally pulled into a motel, well after dark, Dean ordered a single queen and they stayed up late watching reruns and eating vending machine leftovers.  They had nowhere to go in the morning, not until Sam was ready to hit the fair, and they had a few days to see everything there was and move on if they wanted. 

Sam fell asleep in the middle of _The A-Team_ and Dean just let out a deep breath as he grabbed the blankets and pulled the fabric up over them.  He turned off the television and settled in, listening to his brother’s breathing.  When Sam shuffled closer, a murmured “Dean” under his breath, Dean let Sam rest his head on his shoulder. 

He stayed up much later than he’d intended, but it felt good in that moment, Sam in his arms and nothing else in the world.  They could be this to one another.  They knew how to survive on the road, they could just run and never do anything but what they wanted.  It was tempting, but Sam had lawns to care for and Dean had a house to refinish and their life was just starting to make sense again.

He turned his head to look down at Sam and didn’t think anything of reaching over to push the hair back from Sam’s forehead.  Sam tilted his head up and he didn’t think anything of leaning closer either, of pressing his lips against Sam’s in the same chaste kiss he’d given him as a child when nightmares had come and he’d crawled onto Dean’s chest for comfort.  He turned onto his side, careful not to jostle Sam so much that he woke, and drew their foreheads together, finally closing his eyes for the night.

The morning would come soon and Sam would be awake, ready to see what the new day had to offer and Dean would bitch and moan until Sam got him some coffee.  Then they’d hit the fair and see how the other half lived.

It was a life they were learning.  They were together though, and that made the journey worthwhile.  In Dean’s eyes, that was the way it was supposed to be.  End of story. 

 

 


End file.
